Harold Peterson, former Rockville Centre Herald guest columnist, dies at 92

Harold Peterson, a longtime resident of Rockville Centre and Wantagh, was passionate about New York politics and spent the last decade of his life trying to instill change at the state level. He died on Sept. 23, 2020, at the age of 92, after suffering a heart attack.

Known to friends and family as “Hal,” Peterson had a strong interest in the “dysfunction” in Albany and became a guest columnist for Herald Community Newspapers in August 2010, highlighting the problems that persisted in New York State government. Judy Rattner, who was editor at the time, said that he approached her with the idea of writing a column focusing on fiscal reform, and she thought it would be a topic of importance to readers.

“I thought it was something everybody could agree on, and it was non-partisan and made a lot of sense,” Rattner said. “His intent was to root out corruption and greed in Albany.”

Peterson wrote more than three dozen columns between August 2010 and January 2015.

“He was a real gentleman,” Rattner said. “He was always very pleasant to work with.”

In April 2011, he launched his own website, www.ReformAlbanyNowRegistry.com — a source of information for those interested in working to restore the state to a path of fiscal responsibility. That spring, he spoke at the Rockville Centre Public Library, along with experts charged with the oversight of New York’s public authorities and state and local agencies to address the need for reform.

At that time, he said state residents were in need of a “leaner, smarter, more efficient and affordable” state government, and that both taxes and debt would continue to rise unless something is done. Peterson continued to stay active in local politics until the end. Last week, he posted his final column on his blog taking Nassau County Executive Laura Curran to task for her proposed budget. The post is dated Sept. 21, just two days before he died.

Peterson was born on July 25, 1928, to Fred and Evelyn Peterson in Ridgewood. According to the biography posted on his website, he secured an entrance level job with the Standard Oil Company after high school working as a clerk in the coordination and economics department. He began taking evening classes at Columbia University until his Army Reserve unit was activated at the onset of the Korean War in 1950. He received a commendation for serving on the staff of a Brigadier General in the Corps of Engineering, and was discharged in 1952. He graduated from Hofstra University in 1955, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and then joined the Executive Development Program of the New York Telephone Company. In 1984, Peterson was appointed director of internal audit operations of the newly formed NYNEX Corporation, dealing primarily with new acquisitions and the standardization of auditing procedures. He retired in 1990 after 36 years before turning his attention to local issues.

During retirement, he served on a special committee advising Nassau County’s Parks Department on the use of a newly built swim complex; assisted the director of the Rockville Centre Library in studying the deployment and use of computer resources; and joined the staff of Western Suffolk BOCES, lecturing in libraries throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties on the use of the Internet to build and manage investment portfolios.

In 1956, Peterson married Mary Ellen Stapleton. They enjoyed a happy life together for nearly 60 years, according to their children, until her death in February 2016. The couple lived in Wantagh for 30 years, where they raised their children, then spent 21 years in Rockville Centre. They were the loving and devoted parents of Steven (Karen), Robert (Jann), Nancy (Steven) Onufrey and Kathleen (Raymond) Moore, adored grandparents of eight and great-grandparents of two.

Peterson was reposed at Clair S. Bartholomew & Son Inc. in Bellmore. Funeral Mass was held Monday at St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church in Bellmore, followed by interment at St. Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to OneTreePlanted.org for $1 to pass his legacy forward.